More than
a century ago, Christian fundamentalists invented cereal to promote a healthy
lifestyle free of sin. Little did they know, their creation would eventually be
used to promote everything from radio and cartoons to Mr. T and tooth decay.
Meat
Is Murder (on the Colon)
During the
early 19th century, most Americans subsisted on a diet of pork, whiskey, and
coffee. It was hell on the bowels, and to many Christian fundamentalists, hell
on the soul, too. They believed that constipation was God's punishment for
eating meat. The diet was also blamed for fueling lust and laziness. To rid
America of these vices, religious zealots spearheaded the country's first
vegetarian movement. In 1863, one member of this group, Dr. James Jackson,
invented Granula, America's first ready-to-eat, grain-based breakfast product.
Better known as cereal, Jackson's rock-hard breakfast bricks offered consumers
a sin-free meat alternative that aimed to clear both conscience and bowels.
While
Jackson's innovation didn't appeal to the masses, it did catch the attention of
Dr. John Kellogg. A renowned surgeon and health guru, Kellogg had famously
transformed the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Michigan into one of America's
hottest retreats. Socialites from the Rockefellers to the Roosevelts flocked to
"The San" to receive Kellogg's unorthodox treatments. But
shock-therapy sessions and machine-powered enemas weren't the only items on the
agenda. Kellogg also stressed such newfangled ideas as exercise and proper
nutrition. It wasn't long before he started serving bran biscuits similar to
those of Dr. Jackson—only now with the Kellogg name on them. To avoid a
lawsuit, he changed the name of the cereal by one letter, dubbing it
"Granola."
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